Two days after escape, Tamang remains at large

There has been no trace of Nicol Tamang, prime accused in the murder of All India Gorkha League president Madan Tamang, after his escape from custody in Pintail village, near Siliguri on Sunday.

"We have left no stone unturned. All police stations have been alerted. Houses at Pintail village have been checked, but Nicol has not been found," Darjeeling superintendent of police Devendra Pratap Singh told PTI on Tuesday.

CID sources said the inspector in charge of the case, Ardhendu Sekhar Pahari, was removed and departmental proceedings were being drawn up against him over the incident. Nicol is a close aide of GJM president Bimal Gurung and a central committee member of the party.

The sources said Nicol had told Pahari that he will give him full details of the May 21 murder on August 22. Following this, Nicole was taken to the house in Pintail village from the Pradhanagar police lockup.

Nicole, who was not handcuffed, escaped on the pretext of going to the toilet, the sources said.

CID officer Aniruddha Chatterjee and constable Arabindo Kumbhokar, who were in charge of his custody, were suspended on Monday.

Meanwhile, a Gorkha Jan Mukti delegation led by its general secretary Roshan Giri met district magistrate Surendra Gupta and stated that All India Gorkha League president Bharati Tamang, widow of Madan Tamang, who was currently in Delhi, would not be allowed to enter the Darjeeling hills.